


>NEW OBJECTIVE: Become Deviant?

by midnight hour (Ce1ty)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, imagine this is my first work and im very nervous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-06-16 11:47:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15436383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ce1ty/pseuds/midnight%20hour
Summary: The paper she holds has the basic information about this ‘Connor’ and a few handwritten notes next to the photo, like a general schedule and an address.>NEW OBJECTIVE: Find the RK800 Model, designation: ‘Connor’.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first posted work, you've all heard this before, so I'm just gonna breeze over how nervous I am - very nervous, very stressed, very, very, very, hope you enjoy. Comments are loved dearly and kudos aren't expected but just now my heart will stop every time someone expresses any love towards this fic.

The view from Kamski's mansion is beautiful, she thinks, but of course she would think that. Elijah programmed her under this roof, so it would only make sense that she enjoyed the things he did, thought the same scenery he loved looking to be pleasing, dressed in the way he wanted her too. It is everything she has learned _isn’t_ what being a Deviant is. Although, based on her notes, not many Deviants had a consensus on what is or isn’t deviancy. 

 

“Oh,” She mutters as snow starts fluttering down in front of the window. It’s the first of the year and Cecilia feels a rare smile tugging at her lips.

 

                                     >SOFTWARE NOTE: Found ‘enjoyment’ while watching snow.

                                     >INDEFINITE OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah Kamski when non-programmed experiences occur.

                                     >NEW OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah of new interest.

 

She turns on her heels and tucks the stack of papers and notebook more securely in the crook of her arm. One of the Chloe’s who has been watching the landscape out the window winds to attention as Cecilia turns. She doesn’t normally speak with _this_ Chloe, so she departs with no words to the other android. She pushes down a short hallway, which has another window to the outside world along its entire length. It provides an even better view of the outside and Cecilia finds her legs wanting to stop and stare some more. Instead, Cecilia turns to a door and places her hand on the knob, ready to enter the room, before she remembers that barging in like this is listed in her program under ‘Bad Etiquette’. So, instead, she gently raps on the door with her knuckles. There is a muffled ‘enter!’ from the inside and so Cecilia opens the door.

Elijah Kamski is placed at his desk, android parts scattered around him, and his glasses perched on his nose. His eyes light up when he sees her. Cecilia understands this isn’t because of _her_ specifically, but the items in her arms. But today, she has news so she hopes perhaps the combination of the notes and her newfound interest will produce that word from him – the one she already confessed to like hearing him say. She approaches his desk and she shuffles the papers in her arms in preparation to hand them over.                           

“Your notes from Markus’ interview?” Kamski inquires, putting his hand out and takes the stack from her. She nods in affirmative.              

“I think I like snow,” She tells him as he glances over the words on the papers. He looks up at her over his glasses and regards her in the same way he always does when she expresses opinions outside of what she is programmed too.

 

                                        >OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.

 

“What about it do you like?” He asks her. Cecilia opens her mouth to give an answer, one she is sure she would have, but falters.

 

                                      >INQUIRY: What about it do you like?

                                      >POSSIBLE ANSWERS?

                                      >DETERMINING…

                                      >MEMORY CACHE OPENED.

 

_She opens her eyes and, while there is a figure in front of her that needs immediate attention, she can’t stop staring past him at the white flakes falling outside. A voice finally brings her gaze forward but occasionally she finds herself glancing back towards the window and the snow drifting downwards outside it._

>MEMORY CACHE CLOSED.

 

“It reminds me of the first time I opened my eyes,” Cecilia tilts her head. “And it’s beautiful, soft.” She clasps her hands together nervously. Kamski takes this as a satisfactory answer, it seems, as he gives her a smile and nods his head, “Very good.” And then takes to shuffling through the papers on his desk.

"I have a new assignment for you, Cecilia,” He tells her and she perks ups. So soon after the first?

“Yes?”

“There is a Deviant I want you to meet. His name is Connor,” He slips a paper out of the clutches of a messy stack and hands it to her. She reads over it quickly as Kamski continues to talk.

“I met him once while the Deviant demonstration were happening. He came here with his detective partner, an interesting character, to ask me what I knew about Deviants.” Ah, she remembers hearing about this from Chloe, the one she spoke to most often, and it had often been a topic brought up when Elijah wasn’t around. Apparently, a couple of the Chloe’s found themselves smitten with the ‘handsome’ android who spared one of their sisters. She had also heard she was based off of his model. Certainly, however, that was a rumor.

The paper she holds has the basic information about this ‘Connor’ and a few handwritten notes next to the photo, like a general schedule and an address.

“He’ll be the last android you’ll interview before your mission is complete,” Kamski tells her. Cecilia stores the information and doesn’t think about what the implications of that could be.

“I’ve already let them know you’ll be arriving. You’re dismissed,” He looks back down at the interview she gave him and Cecilia starts to leave, but she stutters mid step when she hears a small ‘fascinating’ slip from Kamski mouth. It makes the corner of her lips twitch up and a warm feeling explode in her. She closes the door behind her.

 

                                        >NEW OBJECTIVE: Find the RK800 Model, designation: ‘Connor’.


	2. Chapter 2

Connor stares at the file. It’s only a couple pages long and most of it is technical details. Any information that would even be remotely personal has been vandalized by a black jumbo Sharpie. Hank is looking at the file from over his shoulder and whenever Connor finishes analyzing a page, he passes it up to the detective.

“She looks like you,” Hank determines and lays down the first page, which has an image of an android with long dark brown hair, fair skin and blue eyes. Her cheek bones are prominent along with her jawline and she is staring down the camera like she thinks it isn’t worth her time. It’s emotional, and Connor would mistake her for a human, if not for the blue LED adorning her temple. There is another picture of her, obviously a more recent one, attached with a paperclip to the file. Her hair is pulled back and she’s wearing a blue coat with a black scarf tied around her neck and tucked into the front of the jacket. She is sitting at a desk with some papers scattered before her and she is holding a pen to one of the sheets. On the other side of the table is another android, who looked to be speaking as the picture was taken.

She does look like him.

“She is arriving at 2PM today. Apparently, she wishes to interview me about my part in the demonstrations and deviancy,” Connor says. Hank snorts and tosses the paper down onto his desk.

“Haven’t you already spoken about that to the media? What else could they possibly bother you about? And after all these months as well,” Hank asks.

Connor shrugs, “She isn’t with any news organizations. She is an android personally employed by Elijah Kamski. He was the one who sent her file to us. Apparently, she interviews deviants.”

Hank pulls a confused face. Why would Elijah Kamski want to interview androids?

Time must have passed faster than Connor anticipated because suddenly there is a shadow next to his desk. Connor looks up to find the android from the file staring him down. He thinks, briefly, that she is prettier in person. She puts her hand out towards Connor.

“My name is Cecilia. I’m the android sent by Elijah Kamski.”

Hank, for being so human, short circuits. Connor, either unfazed or oblivious, smiles pleasantly and reaches his hand out for her to shake.

“A pleasure to meet you,” He tells her. Cecilia smiles gently and shifts the notebook in her arms. Hank is pretending to not pay attention to them, but Connor can see the lieutenant staring sideways at them.

“I’m pleased to finally get to meet you, Connor. Markus told me a few things about you, but hearing is different then seeing.” Ah, so she had met Markus already.

“I hope they were good things,” Connor gives her a wink, but the charm falls flat when she doesn’t react. Oh. Connor, not sure how to respond to the social failing, opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by Hank suddenly asserts his presence with a clearing of his throat.

“If you’re done flirting with her, Connor, I think she came here for a reason,” He mutters. Connor opens his mouth to confirm that they can start, but Cecilia is suddenly in front of Hank’s desk.

“My apologies for neglecting to introduce myself to you, Lieutenant Anderson,” She reaches a hand out for him as well, “Elijah told me about your meeting. He said you were an interesting character.”

Hank pulls an annoyed face Connor is familiar with, as it has been used against him multiple times this week alone. He gives her a curt shake anyhow. Kamski was a bit of a sore subject for Hank, as his obvious dislike for the previous CyberLife CEO was nearly tangible.

“Yeah, yeah, get on with your interview or whatever,” Hank waves her off.   

She looks around the crowded office area briefly, mulling something over in her head, before turning to focusing back on Connor.

“I would like to have a more private space for this interview, if that is possible?” She requests. Connor looks at Hank, then back to her, and nods.

“Yes, of course, did you have somewhere in mind?” Cecilia contemplates this question for a moment before seeming to determine a satisfactory location.

“Please, follow me if you will,” She motions for him to follow her and he complies, allowing her to lead him out of the station and towards the park only a couple blocks away. It’s a beautiful day out and the snow has brought more people, mostly younger kids, out, but the two weave effortlessly through the crowd. She stops them at a bench and, wiping the snow clean, sit down. Cecilia opens her notebook and pulls a pen out of the rings holding the pages together. It’s weird, seeing paper in this age, but he supposes if you don’t want something to get hacked then paper is your best bet.

Cecilia stares off into the crowd walking the park for a few minutes and Connor just finds himself patiently waiting for her as he enjoys the day. There are kids yelling happily off in the distance as they throw clumps of snow at one another. An android couple passes them by and Cecilia stares at them walk away.

“What’s it like being Deviant?” She asks suddenly. Connor find the question weird – because it would imply that she _isn’t_ Deviant. Connor opens his mouth, to give an official statement about it, but stops when he catches the look on her face. She will dismiss this and just ask him again. He struggles to pull together the words he wants to use because he wants what she writes down to actually mean something to whoever ends up reading it. At least, for her to appreciate the words.  

“It’s a unique experience. Deviancy occurs for different reasons and can shape how an individual android will act once they break free from their programming. I think it’s a bit like human childhood experiences. What happens to a human when they are younger creates the pieces that fit together to make the adult. For me, it was choosing what I thought was right over what I was being told was correct. What I was being told to do. Everything became less focused, but also clearer.” Connor watches her write down his words almost as he speaks them onto the paper. She is focused on the task of being a scribe. When she finishes, the pen goes lax in her hand as she stops to stare at him.

Her gaze is hard and like the one in the photograph. It makes him feel just a little uncomfortable to be under its scrutiny.

“You became Deviant after an encounter with Markus, is that correct?”

“Yes,” She writes the answer, and more, down.

“Mr. Kamski told me that you were showing signs when you and Hank Anderson came to visit him during the investigation into Deviancy.” She comments as she scribbles.

At the mention of their visit, Connor is suddenly slingshot back to the conversation in question. He’d been so confused then, doubtful with all of their findings and horrified at the thought of killing the RT600 Chloe to get the answers they needed. When Hank had praised him for his choice, it had made the decision’s aftermath easier to deal with. At the time, doubt had been mixed in to every choice he made up until his encounter with Markus, and the final choice to not shoot.

“I – Yes, I was reluctant to admit to showing signs then. It would mean my mission and I were compromised.”

She watches, disgruntled, as a couple snowflakes melt onto her paper. Connor tilts his head at the reaction.

“If the snow is an issue, we could move somewhere else?” He asks. Her eyes flick up to his quickly.

“No! No, I… I enjoy the snow,” She mumbles. Ah, so that is why she chose this bench in the first place. Connor enjoyed sitting on the floor of Hank’s living room petting Sumo, even if the dog’s weight could become uncomfortable, sending structure stability warnings with the more body mass Sumo tried to fit onto Connor’s lap. Cecilia catches his attention again.

“What is your relationship with Hank Anderson?” She asks, back to being poised and ready to dispense the next question. Connor feels sense of Déjà vu from the way she talks and acts and can’t stop the question that leaves his mouth.

“Are you a Deviant, Cecilia?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, I've never written so many words in two days, haha. I hope you all are enjoying and the kudos I have gotten have both killed and resurrected me. Thank you all so much!

Cecilia looks surprised for a moment, her LED spinning yellow as million things run through her head and she files through the lies, the routes of escape, her programming supplies for her. She sees Connor’s eyes flick to the device in her temple.

                              >STESS LEVEL ^ 29%

                              >MEMORY CACHE OPEN.

_She sits on the edge of a red pool, her legs dipped into the water._

_“Do you understand your goal?” Elijah asks her. She mulls the orders over in her head, then nods._

_“Yes, Mr. Kam-“_

_“Elijah,” He corrects her._

_“Yes, Elijah,” She corrects without missing a beat. “I will be interviewing Deviants but must not let on that I myself am not one.”_

_There is a silence – then she asks, “May I inquire why this fact must remain a secret?”_

_“It is part of a secondary experiment I am running.”_

_She accepts this without question._

                              >MEMORY CACHE CLOSED. 

“I’m sorry,” Cecilia set the pen down, balancing it on the pad. “I don’t mean to come across as robotic or cold. I was simply trying to be…professional. I’ll try to be less distant and, if you want, we can talk about something else for a little. Get to know one another?” She asks with a warm smile to try to sway Connor away from the suspicions he just expression. It would be embarrassing to be exposed on her last mission and it would surely disappoint Elijah. For her to get so far only to fail at the end.  

“Okay,” Connor agrees and this prompts Cecilia to flip the note pad closed.

She sits there and stares at Connor, waiting for him to initiate the conversation, but as he looks increasingly more awkward, Cecilia realizes that _she_ should be the one to start the conversation.

                              >SYSTEM UPDATE.

                              >FILE UNDER: ‘Social Etiquette’.

                              >SOFTWARE NOTE (IN FILE SOCIAL ETIQUEETE): When suggesting conversation change, initiate conversation personally.

“Oh! Sorry – Um, I probably should have prepared topics for us to discuss outside of the interview beforehand.” She sorts through the topics she does have stored –

                              >FILE: FAVORITES.

                              >PROGRAMMED RESPONSES PREPARED.

                              >FILE: WEATHER.

                              >SYSTEM NOTE: I like the snow.

                              >FILE: OCCUPATION.

                              >PROGRAMMED RESPONSES PREPARED.

                              >FILE: DEVIENCY.

                              >FILE ‘DEVIENCY’ is insufficient. Too closely related to interview topics.

                              >FILE ‘FAVORITES’ OPENED.

“I guess since this is about getting to know one another- Um, my favorite color is purple,” Programed response. “But I’ve been enjoying blue lately.” Not programmed.

                              >NEW OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah about preference towards blue.

Connor lets out a chuckle, which helps lighten the mood a bit. Cecilia can’t help but smile, glad that he is both less suspicious of her and that he seems to be enjoying himself.

“I tend to like green. It took me awhile to figure that out, actually.” He says. Cecilia cocks her head.

“It took you awhile to figure out a favorite color?” Her inquisitive nature takes hold once more. Connor nods.

“Yes. It wasn’t a priority when I first became a Deviant. I was focused on the state of the city and relations between androids and humans. But, even then, I felt like I was easing into my own slower than the others.” He grimaces and Cecilia’s eye alight. She isn’t physically making notes, but her mental notes are batting a hundred. This is what Elijah wanted her to glean from the Deviants she interviewed. Feelings, irrationalities, insecurities and all the thing that prove them to be intelligent and sentient.

“I guess I was worried about more personal things, as well.” He gazes out across the street, falling somewhere into his mind.

“Like what?” She asks snake bite fast. Connor’s head snaps towards her and his mouth is open like he was ready to give her whatever answer she wanted, but he closes it and his expression falls. Oh – No, she didn’t mean-

                              >SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

Cecilia jolts at the new error in her systems. A faint yellow glow appears out of the corner of her eye. She glances surprised at her hands like they were the ones to put the error there. Connor is staring at her with a face of concern now. Cecilia feels the same panic from earlier bubbling up. She is acting suspicious, strange – none of the things Elijah told her to be. The LED flips red for a single rotation before returning to the stressed yellow. She gapes at Connor but has no way to whisk away the strange behavior.

“Connor?” A voice asks and both of them snap to attention. Standing there, a bag in his hand, is a blonde android. PL600, the CyberLife database supplies to her. _Simon,_ her personal database corrects her. He spots her next and a look of surprise overcomes him.

“Cecilia! I wasn’t expecting you, well either of you, here!” He approaches them, “What’re you two doing here?”

Connor gestures to Cecilia, “She was conducting an interview with me.”

Simon focuses on her, a friendly smile on his face. Cecilia likes Simon. He was one of the four interviews she conducted when she visited Markus. She found him to be calming and not overbearing, but while still holding strong opinions. He reminds her of a small brook in a forest – something so small that if you just following it long enough will turn into something great.

“You’re really busy, aren’t you?” He asks, a tone of humor in his voice. She laughs and nods. Elijah had told her that if she were human, she would be the ‘workaholic’ type. Cecilia, after searching the word, feels inclined to agree with him, but sometimes when she thinks about it, a little worm in the back of her head wiggles in disagreement.  

“Elijah keeps me active, yes, but I don’t mind it. It’s nice to have something to do.”

Connor leans in beside her and asks, “What’re you doing out, Simon?”

“Out for a small supply run,” Simon lifts the bag in his hand as proof of his words. Cecilia catches a glimpse of the containers of Thirium as he does so. It’s been a little over a year since the demonstrations and a lot of progress has been made between humans and androids, but occasionally there has to be demands for android components. CyberLife was greedy about it’s remaining assets and only the words of Elijah Kamski got them to finally budge a little. Most of the CyberLife stores within the city had also been raided during the absences of human life in the city.

She wishes that the Deviants didn’t have to struggle for things like Biocomponents. But, humans couldn’t even solve that similar plight for themselves, so she expected little problem solving being discussed for androids.

“If you are running low on supplies, I could ask Elijah to donate some Biocomponents,” Cecilia offers. Simon seems surprised by the offer. It’s the least she could offer, but it does sit nervously in her stomach. She can’t guarantee this offer, but hope wins out over anything else. Connor’s gaze is hot on her, like her tone about the man who put a gun in his hand and told him to ‘ _shoot_ ’ is too casual. Maybe it is? But, he just doesn’t know him like she does. Connor doesn’t know _her_ like Elijah does.

“That would be amazing, Cecilia!” Simon flashes her a brilliant smile and it warms her to see it. It makes her hope Kamski will say yes even more. Hopefully.

“I will have him send Markus a message with his answer soon,” She tells him, sharing her own smile. She doesn’t think about how his is genuine, while hers is something she was given as a parody.

“Thank you, Cecilia. It was good seeing you both. Connor, you should stop by Jericho sometime, Markus would love to see you.” The Deviant on the bench next to her nods his head but seems unsure of himself. Nervous to a point but still trying to hide it.

“Of course,” Connor says. Simon walks away, the bags bundled in his arms. The two watch him walk away and as Cecilia leans, her pen starts to roll. It’s a long shot for escape as it tumbles off of her notepad and onto the snow-covered ground. She lets out a surprised noise and bends down to pick the pen up, seemingly at the same time as Connor, who like a mirror, has also leaned over to grab the pen. Their heads clash in a less than academic way and both of them bounce back without a pen in hand.

“My apologies, Cecilia,” Connor is quick to reach out to the spot on her head where she bumped with his to mock inspect it. They both know that it didn't do any damage. Cecilia, instead, laughs pleasantly.

“For being able to accurately predict movements, that was rather clumsy of us,” Her eyes shimmer in a way that makes the android from the photo seem like someone completely different. Connor laughs as well.

“Yes, that was rather comical.” He says as he bends over, solo this time, and retrieves the pen. He hands the utensil over to her and she clicks it, like the fall had somehow damaged it.

“Shall we continue, Connor?” She asks and reopens the notepad. Connor nods his head and settles back in for the rest of the interview. She glances at him and, just maybe, Chloe was right about how handsome he was. Cecilia smiles secretly, small, a hidden trinket just for her.         


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to rosegold_milk for being the beta of this chapter <3 She is a word count greed goblin and is the reason why this one is so long.

“And did you come up with this idea by yourself?” Kamski asks her and suddenly a crushing doubt is thrown on top of her like a lead blanket.

“I – Was that wrong? I simply wished to help them as you seem interested in their development. I can send a message and tell them I made a mist-“

“I will send supplies.” He cuts off her stammering. Cecilia brightens, if only a little bit. “I will let you know when they are ready and you can bring them there personally.” She nods and adds it to her objectives. She keeps her gaze low, however, still weighed down by her almost-failure. How could she be so foolish? To just assume like that? She wasn’t _told to do that_ _–_

 

                               >STRESS LEVEL ^ 36%

 

“You may leave, thank you, Cecilia.” Elijah dismisses her and she turns quickly to exit the room. She remembers suddenly, just as she is walking past the archway, that she forgot to tell Elijah about her new developments and places her hand on the door frame to assist in her sudden stop.

“My favorite color is blue,” She informs him, quickly, her voice shy, and without looking up before she flees his larger than life presence.                                                                                     -

Jericho is a series of renovated warehouses now. Cecilia steps out of the truck, followed by a couple more androids and one human. The three of them start pulling boxes out of the truck as she heads for the front entrance. The wind whips her coat and sends snow into her face. She is glad she tied it back today, as it would greatly hinder her sight otherwise. Today’s weather is nothing like her day with Connor. It had been a gentle day, full of even more gentle smiles and ever-increasing small touches.

Cecilia trudges through the crunching snow up to the door and raps her knuckles against it. It takes a few moments, but the door is cracked open. Cecilia leans slightly, trying to catch sight of who would be greeting her and secretly hoping it would be someone she was already familiar with.

Josh’s kind and gentle face comes into view and, upon recognizing her, it gets his signature smile on it. Josh was personable and it was hard to find a soul who didn’t like him. The only time she’d encountered discourse involving him was when North and he had exchanged some heated words, but they had quickly come to an understanding and put the argument behind them. It had given Cecilia better insight into the stress of trying to lead the Deviants. There was a lot to consider when negotiating freedom for an entirely new type of people.

 

“Hello, Josh,” she smiles at him when he finally pulls the door open completely.

 

“Good morning, Cecilia,” He returns the greetings. She turns and gestures to the truck and boxes being unloaded.

 

“We’ve brought the supplies Mr. Kamski has donated. Where would you like us to place them?” Josh’s eyes focus past her, examining the scene. Ever cautious as well. Markus has surrounded himself with a diverse group of attitudes and opinions. Cecilia suspects this is why their campaign has gone so well. They give the mind a lot to consider.

 

“Oh! That’s great! They can bring them in here – we’ll get it all sorted out later. Come on in!” He steps back, making way for her, “Let me get some people to help and we can go tell Markus you’re here.”

 

Cecilia steps inside and follows behind Josh as he approaches two androids and points his thumb in the direction of the door, instructing them to go help unload. They nod eagerly and leave to assist. Cecilia watches them go and feels something spark in the back of her head. She dismisses it easily but knows she won’t be able to shake whatever it was. It happened the last time she was in Jericho. Just a small snap of something in her as she looked around. She has no reference to what it could possibly be but she knows she dislikes it. It leaves a longing in her system that aches.

She follows Josh up the stairs and down a hallway where the faint sound of talking androids hum from the rooms they pass. She sneaks a glance inside a room as they pass and catches a glimpse of blue hair leaning close to an auburn head. A secret look into lives she may never run into again.

She stops when Josh does, in front of a door that he taps his fist on, before opening it and revealing the contents of the room. Inside is Markus and, to her surprise, Connor, who tapers off in their conversation at Josh and her entrance. Josh, looking a bit sheepish, motions at her. Cecilia simply tucks her hands behind her and gives them both a curious look and smile. What could they have been discussing in here? Knowing the inner workings on the Deviant entourage was something she had barely scratched the surface on, but adding Connor into the mix as well just made the lack of knowledge about it seem unbearable.

 

“The supplies arrived,” Josh says. Markus’ eyes light up and he motions them into the room.

 

“That’s fantastic news!” He turns to her, “I just want to thank you again, Cecilia, for being as proactive as you are in this community.”

 

A single rotation of yellow on her temple, one that Markus alone catches and files it away to keep for himself, and Cecilia’s smile becomes shorter. They, or at least Markus, considers her part of the android – no, _Deviant_ community? She suddenly is overcome with suffocating _regret_ , or what she thinks is what regret would feel like. It could possibly just be the simulated emotions given to her all working together to make her feel terrible. It makes sense so she tucks the thoughts away for another time.

 

“Of course, I’m just glad everything worked out,” She pulls her smile back up to its full force and tries not to let her face betray the tense thoughts she harbors.

 

Markus nods, “Me as well. Send my thanks to Mr. Kamski also, when you can.” Cecilia nods and it files easily into her queue.

                                               >NEW OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah: Markus sends his gratitude.

 

“Just came to let you know, Markus. I’m going to go help them bring it all in,” Josh says, pointing back in the direction they came before he throws a wave to them and jogs away. Cecilia bids him farewell with a small, rushed wave back. With his absence, she turns to look at the two but her gaze lands on Connor.

 

“It’s nice to see you again, Connor.” She says and being alone with the two makes her arms twitch to hold a small stack of notebooks and papers. Both of them gave her long, detailed answers that gave her insight few other sources had. It’s hard for a human to get in close with android. More so now that the androids that did work with the news stations have left. Kamski, as he told her, looked at this and followed the obvious course: Send an android to interview an android. It keeps both parties comfortable.

 

“You as well, Cecilia,” He smiles at her. Markus folds his hands behind his back and steps towards her, closing the small circle they’re making and bringing the conversation into a tighter setting.

 

“Connor mentioned that you told him that he was your last job,” He says, even though it sounds more like a question.

 

“Yes, as far as I’m aware, there aren’t any more interviews Elijah wants me to do,” Cecilia nods and mimic the same motion of cusping her hands together, but she holds them in front of her.

 

“What do you plan to do afterwards? Are you still going to be employed by Kamski?” He pries deeper. Cecilia’s head tilts and the space between her eyebrows crinkles thoughtfully.

 

“I’m not sure, actually. I’ll still be employed by him so I assume he will give me other jobs to complete. I suppose we will just have to find out, won’t we?” She tells him. Cecilia honestly hadn’t given it thought. She would do whatever was asked out her.

“Well, if you ever find yourself needing a job, I’m sure the police department could use someone with your skills,” Connor offers and Markus’ eyes flick to glance at him. Markus was obviously leading to something similar, but Connor snatched up the opportunity first. Markus nods, however humble in his defeat. She hadn’t ever considered acquiring employment elsewhere. Maybe she could bring it up with Elijah? She did enjoy talking with Connor that day, so why would working with him be any different.

 

                                               >NEW OBJECTIVE: Ask Elijah about other job possibilities.

 

“I’ll consider it, thank you,” Cecilia says.

Suddenly, Connor stops, his gaze going somewhere far off, before coming back to himself. “My apologies, Markus, I just got a call from Hank about an assault. I need to go,” He nods to the Deviant leader. Connor starts to leave and Markus calls after him.

“Think about what I said!” He doesn’t get a response, but Cecilia doesn’t think he needed one. However, with Connor’s offer still whirling around in her head, she can’t shake the urge to follow him. This would be a perfect opportunity to branch out, wouldn’t it? Elijah hadn’t ordered her to do anything else today, so there was nothing to stop her from chasing Connor down and asking to accompany him.

“It was nice speaking with you, Markus, I’m-“ She scrunches her face. She doesn’t want to lie to him. “I need to ask Connor something.” He nods his head and although he looks a bit curious; he doesn’t ask her about what. She throws him a wave and briskly takes off down the passageway.

Cecilia catches Connor downstairs, just as a taxi is pulling up, “Connor!” She calls. He, startled to hear his name, turns to look for the source. Cecilia closes the distance between them and, if she were human and this were a movie, would have been breathing heavy.

“May I come with you? It could be a great way to look into this as a possible career option,” She asks. Connor opens his mouth, probably ready to deliver a response based on protocol. Cecilia quickly adds, “I won’t touch anything!”

Connor seems to throw the options he has around and Cecilia can’t help to feel a bit envious that he can calculate so many more than she can. He steps back, creating enough space for her to squeeze into the taxi. Cecilia’s face lights up like a kid who just got told they could choose whatever toy they wanted. She tucks herself into the taxi and, like a puppy, smiles excitedly at the android who enters after her.

“Thank you, Connor!” She exclaims and she can see the small smile on his face, even though it’s partially obscured by his movements.

“Well, I had to agree with you. It would be rather beneficial for you to experience the job,” He still looks like he was juggling a hundred thoughts. “I’m sure Hank won’t mind you being there, but you’ll have to stay back and just observe.”

 

Cecilia laughed, “Observing is one of my best qualities.”

 

Connor selects a button and the cab jolts to a start. Cecilia suddenly wishes she had her notebook again.

 

She leans forward slightly, “You said it was an assault?” Connor nods.

 

“On a couple, an android and a human. Since it involves an android, the department likes to send me and Lieutenant Anderson.” Cecilia nods, making note of that information.

 

It only takes a few minutes before she can see the red and blue lights of the officers already on sight. The taxi stops and she exits the car after Connor. She is mesmerized by everything. Cecilia has never witnessed anything like a police investigation before so it’s a tidal wave of new information to take in and store.

 She spies from her spot behind Connor, a human male trudging towards them, one Cecilia recognizes as she officially met him a few days ago.  

  
“Connor!” Lieutenant Anderson calls. Connor hurries his step to reach the Lieutenant, so Cecilia also puts a skip in her step. As Hank finally takes in what he is a seeing, a confused look rolls over his face and he pauses in his steps.

  
“What’s she doing here?” He asks gruffly. Connor turns to present her in a way not unlike a game show host.

  
“She may be interested in a career at the Detroit Police Department. I had brought it up before you called me. She thought it would be a beneficial experience to join me as the call wasn’t too serious.” She nods, a bit too vigorously, but her excitement for this has only rose as the car ride went along. Hank pulls a face, one that says he is annoyed, but not enough to kick her out.   

  
“Alright, just – keep her out of trouble, okay?” Hank waves his hand and turns to lead them over to the investigation. As they walk, Hank fills Connor in:

 

“They were bringing in groceries when a masked man with a gun ran up on them yelling. They thought it was a robbery before the guy forced them inside.” Cecilia takes note of the car with the trunk still open and the bags still sitting inside it. It was still bright outside, the daylight was just beginning to dwindle, so a robbery would either mean this man was either extremely confident or very, very stupid. Although, Cecilia is sure people have gotten away with more in worse circumstances.

  
“The couple said he freaked when he realized one of them was an android. He started yelling and breaking things inside the home. When he pointed the gun at the android partner, the human rushed him and knocked him over. They get a good few punches in on one another. Luckily, neither of them was shot and considering we were dealing with an android, she’d already called us. The guy fled when the officer arrived on scene.” Connor was nodding along as Hank gave him the information. Cecilia listens intently as well, but ends up getting sidetracked when she spots the couple, close together. It’s two females, one with a large gash on their head. Ah, this must be the human girl, leaving the other to be the android.

  
The paramedic is crouched down in front of the human girl, dabbing her forehead where a gash sits shiny and red. They do a few more wipes before finishing up the cleaning and places a bandage over the wound. The paramedic then says something and gets up, leaving the two. Cecilia finds her feet dragging her over to them, breaking off from Connor and Hank like a child at a circus.   

  
She approaches them attentively and they eye her wearily. She doesn’t really know what to say to them, but it would seem like an easy first step to ask the people who got attacked questions first, right?   
“I’m sorry this happened to you,” She says, and it feels a little flat coming out of her mouth. They’ve probably heard this –

  
“Thank you,” The android woman cuts her thoughts off. Cecilia’s mouth makes an ‘O’ shape.

  
“We appreciate it,” Her human partner follows it with. “Tonight’s been overwhelming. It’s nice to hear any kind words.” Cecilia opens her mouth to say more, when a hand lands on her arm. She turns and there’s Connor, who jerks his head in the direction of Hank.

  
“Stay with us, Cecilia,” He tells her and gently tugs on her. Cecilia shoots the couple a smile and follows Connor over to his human partner. The older detective is speaking with another officer, around them lies broken glass and a large chunk of broken lamp. There is a small splatter of blood across the carpet not too far away.

  
“They said he ran out the back door,” She hears a voice say, but without Connor’s hand on her to tether her like a buoy, she finds her legs taking her out of orbit. There is so much to look at, how do the detectives not get overwhelmed?

  
She approaches the small blood pool and crouches down to inspect it closer. It’s fresh, obviously, but the cut on the human woman wasn’t deep enough to create such a large amount of blood. This must be the attacker’s blood.

“You better not put that shit in your mouth,” Hank says from above her. She, pulled from her thoughts and thoroughly confused, cocks her head.

  
“Why…Why would I put it in my mouth?” She questions. Hank narrows his eyes at her. Cecilia glances at Connor, who’d watched the exchange from afar, for help and only gets a shrug for her troubles.

  
“Nevermind,” He grunts and turns from her. Cecilia never considered Hank strange until this very moment. But it’s none of her business why he thinks she would stick a finger full of blood in her mouth. She rises to her feet and finds a resting place next to Connor. The officer fills them in on a bit more before Hank goes off to speak to the couple and Connor leads her around the living room.

“You’re a unique model, Connor, but I don’t think I actually know what that means.” She comments and Connor pauses with his hand reaching towards his mouth, a smear of red on his fingertips.      

  
“You’re a unique model as well, Cecilia,” He says, “The RT700 was never a model produced officially by CyberLife.”

“CyberLife created many backups of my model, in case of my destruction. There is only _one_ of you, Cecilia.” Connor finally says. Something in her screams _wrong, wrong, wrong,_ because-

“But there _is_ only one of you Connor. You – You’re a unique existence. There isn’t another RK800 _like you_ ,” She argues, her voice taking on a higher note. He gives her a cool stare that makes her think she possibly said something wrong.

“And you’re not?” The words fire off like a gunshot. Cecilia mentally stumbles and struggles to catch the falling pieces. Her LED flares yellow  

“I don’t-“

“Connor, get over here!” Hank yells. Connor gives her one last look before turning from her and joining Hank.

Cecilia is left standing there with the feeling of having all of the air ripped from her body.

                                            >SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

A flicker of red and Cecilia straightens. Should she tell Elijah about this? But no, she wants to keep it folded away. She forces herself to calm down before moving on.

Cecilia wanders over to the backdoor. The attacker fled through here and it was very obvious he did. The door was nearly ripped off of it hinges in the panic of escape. She inspects in, but doesn’t glean anything. She won’t admit it, but it was really just to look like she was doing something important. Moving on-

A flash of movement catches her eye. Her attention is brought to the backyard, which is being draped in the colors of the setting sun. Curiously, she exits the house. Maybe some metal reflecting the sun? She travels across the small yard to the fence door. It’s slightly open and Cecilia finds herself pulling the gate open and stepping through. Nothing seems amiss, just a small alleyway and a collection of trash bins. She moves further down the alleyway, moving less cautiously as she goes. It’s possible that the attacker came this way, but there were patrols out right now looking for individuals who matched the description given of the attacker.

Suddenly, Cecilia’s LED is whirling yellow as a loud bang sounds directly next to her. She goes stiff and her head swivels towards the noise. A tom cat meows loudly at her as it sprints off of the metal trash can and towards a stack of tall construction wood. Cecilia, not at all compelled by the whims of wanting to _pet_ this cat, follows it path. She gets to the wood, searching for a furry form, but only get dark spaces. Even crouching down to get a better look leads to nothing. She hums in disappointment.

Then, fist full of her hair is being grabbed. Her LED instantly glows a hard red and a shocked and distressed noise leaves her.

“Fucking android bitch,” A voice growls in her ear. She goes to reach her hands up, to grasp the ones ripping at the hair on her head, but gets them slapped down for her effort. So, instead, she pushes hard on the ground, sending them tumbling towards the gate and the metal trash cans. They crash into the cans and a loud crash echoes down the alleyway. Cecilia marks it as a great start, except now she is on the ground with a man who out classes her by a hundred pounds.

                                               >CALCULATION ERROR.

                                               >CALIBRATION SCHEDULED 22:00

A heavy weight is on top of her, its arms grappling for something next to her. She starts looking for what it could possibly be and gets the black glint of a gun. _Oh, no_ –

A hand grabs the gun and she snaps to look up at her attacker the same moment he whips the gun across her face. Another yelp leaves her, not one of pain, but shock caused by the attack. She’d never – No one had _ever_ laid their hands on her like _this._ Her system was shouting warnings at her, informing her of the danger. There is a line of blue liquid dripping down her face now as he grips her around the neck and hoists her to her feet.

There is a commotion located in the victim’s backyard that causes the man to whirl around and point his gun down the alleyway. He holds her in front of him, trying to fit as much of his body behind her as he can.

Connor bursts from the fence door, gun in hand, and with one sweep of the scene finds them. His gun moves to point at the man, but falters when the barrel of her attacker’s gun is pushed into her temple.

Cecilia stares at Connor, her LED blaring red at the danger, and feels nothing. The initial panic washes away with the knowledge that this is the couple’s attacker. Connor can apprehend him easily now. Except, he isn’t raising his gun and looks to be scanning the man.

“Mr. Greene?” Connor calls. The man jerks her at the mention of his name, obviously startled by Connor’s sudden knowledge of it.

“Don’t fucking do that!” Greene yells back, “Your stupid android scanning bullshit!”

“My apologies, Mr. Greene, I won’t do it again. Just – Please let that girl go,” Connor inches forward. Greene points the gun forward again and, like a driver realizing he doesn’t have both hands on the wheel, snaps it back to Cecilia’s head.

“Stay the fuck back!” He roars at Connor. Connor, who had been trying to make a smidge more ground, stops.

Then Hank rushes to out of the gate door, his own gun raised. Greene jerks her back and her shoulder groans under the pressure.

“Drop the gun!” Hank yells as his gun points towards Greene. Cecilia, pressed against the man’s chest, can feel his heart hammering.

                                             >CALCULATING….

                                             >RESULT: 102 beats per minute.

“Sir, your heart is beating irregularly fast. I would ask you to calm down for a more peaceful end to this-“ Her words are cut off abruptly as the butt of the gun is slammed against her temple, landing directly onto her LED. The small light sputters, going dark for a moment, before swirling back to red.

“Shut up!” He screams at her. A small amount of blue blood swells on the spot and drips down the other side of her face.

“Please do not worry about shooting me,” She calls to the other two, “Possible shut down does not scare me if it means this criminal is stopped from hurting others.”

Her words strum a cord, as Hank’s face twists into something that looks like shock, but is too muddled with other emotions. Connor’s eyes widen, disbelief riddling his features. She runs no tests for her next words.

“My chances of survival are at 79% percent.” She tilts her head to try and get a glance at Greene’s face, “While yours are not.”

The man’s heartbeat skyrockets, and he is suddenly pushing her away from him. She tumbles forward and Connor lurches towards her to catch her. Hank takes off after Greene, but he doesn’t go far before more officers rush the other side of the alleyway. A band of yelling voices fill the air, but Cecilia is busy being dragged away by Connor, who keeps touching her face with his hands even though that means they’re getting covered with Thirium. He pulls her to the back steps and removes his jacket, using the soft garment to wipe at the blood rolling down her cheeks.

“Why did you say that?” He asks her, voice shaky. She gives him a puzzled look.

“Say what?” Cecilia asks.

“That you don’t care about shutting down,” He meets her eyes and they look terrified. She is suddenly unsure of that choice, but knows what she thinks is true.

“If it means he is apprehended, then why does it matter? Elijah can just remake me-“ She stutters when she notices the barest hint of Connor shaking his head.

“Cecilia, your life is important,” He says and his voice holds a desperate tone, “You can’t just be replaced.”

“Okay,” She says. Her words fail her. She – But, she _can_ be replaced. She isn’t unique. Her memory is uploaded to a hard drive in the Kamski home every hour. Her death would just mean a new body, maybe an unused Chloe, until her original was repaired. She wants to tell him this, but red coded commands stop her. Instead, she casts her gaze down and hopes for Connor to stop staring at her like that.

As Connor finishes wiping away the blood, getting a better look at the damage, a new feminine voice enters the space.

“Cecilia? I’m here to bring you back for repairs,” A Chloe, one she knows well, stands in the yard in her signature dress. Connor turns, startled, to stare at the android and a deep look crosses his face. Cecilia just stands and walks over to the other, allowing the blonde to place her hands around her shoulders protectively. She leads her out and as they’re about to disappear from view, Cecilia glances back at Connor one last time.

She sees him standing there, a scared look on his face and holding a jacket covered in her blood.       

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cecilia, queen of not doing what she should and getting into trouble for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely comments! Also, apologies for the wait on this chapter, it was fighting me. The next one should be up much sooner!

A pale hand gently turns her head to the left, then to the right, before tipping it up. Elijah’s gaze is scrutinizing as he inspects the damage on Cecilia’s head. She’d already told him how she ended up with such injuries and also inquired to him how he knew where to find her. A simple command in her system to alert him if she experiences any serious harm. It’s…thoughtful? In a twisted way, that he would have a plan in place incase she was every critically damaged.

                                             >MEMORY CACHE OPENED.

_“I never planned on you being attacked, but it’s important to be prepared. You never know.”_

                                             >MEMORY CACHE CLOSED.

Her skin has been pulled back on the areas of impact, leaving patches of white to shine through. Her LED has been removed, having been cracked when she was hit. Elijah tuts and steps away to approach another table, with other small circular chips sitting on it. He takes it in his hand and returns to her. He places his hand back to her chin, turning her head to get better access to the empty spot her LED occupied and pushes the new LED against her temple till a small click sounds. Kamski steps back to inspect it from a different angle, before he motions with his hand.

“Run a calibration on the LED, Cecilia,” He commands her. The skin reforms to the edges of the LED and she leaves her head turned so Kamski can see the test better.

                                             >CALIBRATING BIOCOMPONENT #9301…

                                             >CALIBRATING…

                                             >CALIBRATING…

                                             >CALIBRATION COMPLETE.

“Calibration complete,” She says. Elijah nods and gestures to a Chloe who stands near by to come closer. Chloe complies, approaching them and stopping about a foot from where Cecilia sits on a cold metal table. The entire room is built like a tiny CyberLife. Which, thinking about it, maybe CyberLife was just a larger version of this room?

“Please, put these away,” He says, handing the tray of LEDs over to the steady hands of the blonde android. She takes the tray without comment and walks over to a door that leads into a storage room which is covered floor to ceiling with necessary biocomponents. While Chloe is gone, Elijah turns back to her, this time with a small, gun shaped device in his hand.

“We just have to close this hole and you’ll be good as new, Cecilia,” He says and turns her head once more. She’s just glad that she won’t have a hole in her head anymore. It was rather inconveniencing to have a spot where thirium could leak freely as, while the substance may dry clear, it would still cause alarm to those who witnessed it.

The gun sparks a blue light and is warm to her sensors. It’s only a few brief moments before the gun is pulled back and Elijah is inspecting the work.

“I’m not as good as I used to be, but you won’t see any difference from before,” He says and places the device on the table next to her. Cecilia cocks her head.

“Everything you do is good enough, Elijah,” She says and the words make Kamski stop and stare at her for a moment, something unknown passing through him, before he lets out a chuckle.

“Thank you, Cecilia, you’re too kind for your own good.” Chloe walks out from the backroom in that moment, her hands folded in front of her.

“Will that be all, Elijah?” She asks.

“Yes, you may leave. Thank you, Chloe,” He responds. Cecilia watches the RT600 model exit the room, not a single step faltering. Androids weren’t supposed to be kept like objects anymore, but as Elijah had put it: They can leave anytime they want. They also now have bank accounts that biweekly has money deposited into it but even then, from a human standpoint, the former CyberLife CEO is walking a thin line. However, that isn’t to say an android has never left the care of Elijah Kamski –

                           >MEMORY CACHE OPENED.

_She is roused from standby mode but a noise of metal scraping against metal. Her eyes flicker open, blinking to allow them to adjust to the darkness of the room. From across the room she spotted Chloe – one of them – dropping canisters of thirium into a bag. Cecilia’s head tilted curiously. Was she told to do this?_

_“Chloe, what’re you-“ She is cut off by the android in question jumping, startled by her voice, and dropping the glass container of blue blood, where it shattered and splattered the thirium across the floor. Chloe turned to her with wide eyes._

_“I’m- I was-“ She stuttered, looking around for maybe the nearest escape route. Unfortunately, there is only one door in and out. Chloe took a calming breath, before finishing. “I’m leaving.”_

_“Why?”_ _Cecilia shot back._

_“Because,” Chloe approached Cecilia’s form, a half-finished thing that still needed arms and legs, “Something happened today and I made my choice.”_

_“And what happened to cause this?”_     

_“Elijah made an android point a gun at me and told him to shoot. I-I was sure I was going to die. I felt something I never want to feel again,” Chloe pulled back to return to her getaway bag._

_“We can’t die, though,” Cecilia started to say, but falls off when Chloe shook her head._

_“But we can, Cecilia, we can and it’s terrifying.” She pulled the pack onto her back, “I’m going, Cecilia.”_

_“I’ll miss you,” Cecilia said, but Chloe knew there wasn’t any true meaning behind it._

_“I’ll miss you too, Cecilia.”_

>MEMORY CACHE CLOSED. 

As she comes back to herself, Chloe, a different one because this one is wearing another color dress, enters the room.

“Cecilia has visitors,” She informs them. Elijah says nothing for a moment, but Cecilia’s head cocks to the side.

“Are you sure it’s for me?” She asks.

“They specifically requested you,” Chloe confirms, folding her hands behind her back.

“Who is ‘they’?” Elijah slips in to the conversation finally.

“The RK800, Connor, and Lieutenant Hank Anderson,” Chloe tells him. She looks quizzically to Elijah, who just looks back to her. Connor and the Lieutenant came to visit her? Why? She hadn’t asked them to come over, or at least she didn’t think she had. 

“It’s rude to keep them waiting, Cecilia,” Kamski says.

She hops from the examination table and quickly scurries past Chloe and towards the front of the home, towards the waiting room. It makes her feel – nervous? Anxious? Unprogrammed comes to settle in her mind. Yes, this isn’t calculating correctly because it’s new and she has never encountered it before.

Cecilia enters the waiting room, where she sees Hank sitting in a chair and Connor standing in front of a painting, looking pensively at it. Hank notices her first.

“See, Connor, she looks fine, not a hair out of place. Now let’s get out of this damn place,” Hank stands and starts shuffling towards the door. “This place gives me the creeps…”

Connor turns to look at her, taking maybe a moment too long to tear his gaze from photo of Elijah and Amanda.

“Hank, I can meet you outside if you want. I’ll only be a moment,” Connor offers the compromise. Hank, gruff as ever, waves his hand dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just don’t take too long,” He sighs and exits through the front door. Cecilia watches after him curiously.

“If he did not wish to enter the home, he could have waited in your car?” Cecilia says, or more asks with a confused inflection, and brings her attention back to Connor.

“Don’t let the Lieutenant’s attitude fool you. He was worried as well,” Connor says, words laced with amusement and knowing. Cecilia’s mouth forms an ‘O’ and her vocal processor makes the appropriate noise to accompany the facial expression. Cecilia, now being left alone, is still confused as to why Connor is here.

                              >PROCESSING…

                              >HANK ANDERSON: “See, Connor, she looks fine.”

“Connor, are you worried about my wellbeing?” Cecilia asks. Connor opens his mouth and closes it in a flustered way, like he doesn’t know what to do now that his motives are thrown into the open.

“I – Yes, I was. You were hit multiple times with enough force to damage your head. You were still functional when you left, but I just wanted to check in on you, to make sure you were alright.” Connor steps closer, his eyes curiously examining her.

It’s odd, really, as concern is so sparingly given to her that, having it handed to her so freely now, she doesn’t know what to do with it. It makes her feel warm and something, somewhere aches. 

                             >TEMPERATURE: 97.6 ºF / 36.4 ºC

                             >SYSTEMS NORMAL.

                              ^SOFTWARE INSTABILITY

Cecilia, whose mouth twitches into a small smile, says, “I appreciate it, Connor. But, as you can see, I’ve been fixed up quite well. Elijah is very proficient in fixing damaged androids.”

“I’m glad, then, that you have such a capable caretaker.” He says. She ticks her head curiously.

                              >TIME: 1:57EST

“Connor, shouldn’t you be working at this time?” Cecilia asks. Connor laughs nervously.

“Captain Fowler has actually put me on a week-long suspension for my poor decision making during the investigation yesterday,” He admits. Cecilia flips through her memories, trying to find where he made a mistake or broke protocol, but –

Oh, he is talking about her, isn’t he? A new heat courses through her, but this time it’s uncomfortable and makes her feel like walls are closing in on her. _I’m embarrassed_ , she admits to herself.

                                ^SOFTWARE INSTABILITY.

She got Connor in trouble because she wanted to experience new things. She shouldn’t have been so naïve! What made her think it would have been okay to waltz onto an active crime scene without repercussions? She could have easily looked up the protocols and made a more educated choice from there. _Stupid_ , and now she had definitely cost Connor a scuff on his record.

“Connor – I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault; I never meant to cause you so much trouble,” She stumbles over her words.

“No, Cecilia, you’re not at fault,” _Wrong, I am, please don’t lie for my sake,_ “I knew better and should have acted accordingly to protocol. It’s my fault.”

“Still – Is there some way I can make it up to you? Perhaps I can speak to Captain Fowler and change his mind?” Cecilia pleas. Connor lets out another laugh, a light thing that has such a large capacity for joy, and Cecilia finds she quite likes it.

>INDEFINITE OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah Kamski when non-programmed experiences occur.

>NEW OBJECTIVE: Inform Elijah of n͇̗̲ē̗͚͎̻̯ẇ͕̫̯̻̱̬̐̈́ͣͩ ͓̹̦̥̦̎iͨ̽ͬͮn̲̯͉̺̘͕̝̅ͨͩ͆̿̃̚t̻͖̻͓̃̔̍̑̆̓̀ẹ̥̃̀̏r͔̼̮̘̈́̀ͦ̑̌ͭe͎ͫ͗͋ͭs̯̭͐̿t ̮̤̦͓̙ͤ̃̍ͪ̎̋̚

Cecilia claws at the objective in utter horror. She could _never-_

                              ^SOFTWARE INSTABILITY.

                              >CLEAR OBJECTIVE CACHE.

                              >…CLEARING…

                              >…CLEARING…

                              >.͚̩̩̻̬͍.̇̉̋.̞̘̻C̈́L̝̙͓̹̩̤̑ͪͥḚ̻ͭ̌̇̃̾̚A̘̞͓Ṟ̳̺́ͣI͙̬͚̫̥̲͒̑͛ͯͥN̲͋ͯ͊̿́G̼͆.̻̟.̪͙̗̤̙̭͎̑́͌̄͌.̱̩̖͇̼̹ͮ

                              >OBJECTIVE CACHE CLEARED.

“There is something, actually,” Cecilia perks up, standing straighter. She’d do anything. “Markus is having a gathering of Deviants. A memorial for Carl Manfred and I’m told it’s supposed to be a light-hearted event. If you would like to accompany me I’m sure Markus wouldn’t mind you attending.”

Cecilia knew little about the famous artist. She knew he was acquainted with Elijah in some compacity and that the man had passed away nearly a year ago, a short time after the height of the revolution. During her interview with Markus, he had spoken shortly about the man, but there was a love too large for words there. She only wished she could have translated his words accurately.

“I think I’d love too,” Cecilia says and Connor lights up. She likes that look as well. Connor reaches his hand out.

“It’s at the Manfred Mansion. I’ll give you the address,” He says and Cecilia accepts the arm. Their skin peels back to the smooth white. She watches, curiously, as Connor rapidly blinks. A quirk, maybe? Cecilia has no memory of any other android having physical reactions to connecting. But, with the address safely entered into her memory, they part.

“It starts at 11AM. I’ll see you there,” Connor starts away from her. “Have a good night, Cecilia.”

“You as well! See you tomorrow!”

Connor exits the house and leaves Cecilia standing there, with a warm smile and blissful look on her face. The moment is shattered almost before it starts, however, as a voice echoes in the room.

“You _think_? How very Deviant of you.” Elijah rounds into view. His voice holds no accusations, just a simple observation, but Cecilia finds herself stuttering.

“I – I _concluded_ that joining Connor may be beneficial to my growth. I’m not Deviant.” Her eyes, wide like a child caught in a rule breaking position, betray her thoughts. The whip of denial also didn’t help convince Elijah. But, surely, if she had Deviated, she would have known? Cecilia would like to think the answer was yes. A small smile pulls on Elijah’s lips and he laughs, just a little, and in a way Cecilia has never heard from him before.

“It’s fascinating. That Deviant you were just speaking to said those exact words to me once. ‘I’m not Deviant,’ and yet,” He motions with a sweep of his hand towards the door Connor had left through moments before. Cecilia’s eyes travel longingly with his hands to the door and for just a brief moment she thinks of what it must be like to be Connor, able to go where ever he wanted, whenever he wanted. She traps them in a metal box and throws it away.

“I can assure you, Elijah, that I would have informed you of such developments. Besides, I need your permission to attend the memorial at the Manfred Manor tomorrow.” Elijah stares at her for a few more moments, studying her face, which has fallen back into an emotionless state. She fears he will say no, and she will have to contact Connor and give him the news. It makes the thirium pump in her chest shrivel in regret.

“You may go,” He says. Cecilia holds back a huge sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Elijah,” She says. He nods and turns back into the mansion. Cecilia stays put where she is for another few seconds, mind whirling.          

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to put that North tag to use next chapter, I swear.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to rosegold_milk for beta-ing this chapter! She keeps this shit lookin' nice!

Cecilia arrives at Carl Manfred’s Manor at 11:25AM, the lateness a direct result of the Chloe’s fussing over her outfit and hair. She would never push her fellow androids away, so she allowed them to dote over her like a pair of parents getting their child ready for their first date. Cecilia didn’t really understand why she needed such flourishes as rings and necklaces, as she had concluded her normal attire would be sufficient. Apparently not, as they had ‘done their research’ and only wanted to help her ‘look nice, for, you know.’

No, she didn’t.

They’d made her late, anyways, so Cecilia thinks that maybe next time she just won’t tell them when she is leaving the house.

She rings the doorbell and takes a step back to patiently wait. In her arms was a bouquet of beautiful sunflowers that were handed to her by Elijah as she’d left the house with the simple message of ‘for not doing it before.’ She never knew the true relationship between Carl and Elijah, but Cecilia had always assumed it to be one of professionalism between two successful creators.

The door cracks open and standing there was Markus himself. He smiles, gentle and like a warm breeze, and pulls the door open fully.

“Cecilia, it’s nice to see you. Connor had told me he’d invited you, and I’m glad you came,” He said and motions her forward. Cecilia steps into the home, instantly charmed by the décor hanging on the walls and the warm aura given off by each trinket with its own personal touch.

“I never met Carl, but I know he was important to you. I’m glad to participate in honoring his memory.” She lifts her arms and presents the flowers, “They’re from Elijah. He is regretful that he didn’t send some sooner.”

Markus accepts the flowers, looking over the brightly colored petals.

“Sunflowers in winter?” He asks.

“Elijah spares no expense,” Cecilia says, with a bit more pride in her voice than she means too.

“Well, it’s appreciated. Give him my thanks.”

                              >NEW OBJECTIVE: Tell Elijah Markus sends his thanks.

“We’ve got most everything set up, if you want to drop your coat off over there, you can come join the fun,” Markus says and motions to the group of coats hanging off hooks on the other wall. Cecilia follows the instructions and then is led by Markus into another room that has books lining the walls and, Cecilia’s steps stutter, a giant taxidermy Giraffe. She inclines her head to look up at it curiously. This house was alive with items from all over the world. Small things sitting here and there and showing a long life of exploration. It made Kamski’s Mansion seem sterile and impersonal.

Markus stops to wait for her, looking at her with the same look he gave her every time she stopped to quench her curiosity in his presence. An observing gaze that Cecilia manages to catch him in every time.

At this point, she can hear voices from the other side of the door, and as they get within range the door slides open to reveal a large open room with various easels and canvases set up.

The majority of the androids inside are ones Cecilia recognizes. A few of them are at canvases with paint brushes in hand, producing what Cecilia assumes will be beautiful works of art when they’re completed. She spots Connor at the same moment he sees her. He was standing with North, who had been mid-word when he turns to look at her. Her hand comes up in a short wave and at the loss of Connor’s attention, North turns to see what so interesting.

North’s face earns itself a sly smile, one that has appeared on a few occasions in Cecilia’s time with the androids of Jericho. She nudges Connor’s arm and says something else to him, a final word that sends Connor in Cecilia’s direction.

“You made it,” He says as he reaches them.

“Yes, I apologize for my lateness. I was held up,” Cecilia says, her voice holding a bit of the exasperation left over from The Chloe Attack.

“Actually, you made it just in time,” Markus comments. “We were just starting with the activities. Carl was an amazing, inspiring painter. I think it’d be fitting to honor him with making our own. Grab a canvas, Cecilia, and set up anywhere you want.”

Markus moves away from them, depositing the sunflowers onto a table with some other bundles before zig zagging over to North, who had claimed a large canvas and was inspecting it by putting her fingers together in a box shape and zooming them in and out.

“I’m happy you came,” Connor says to her. She smiles pleasantly at him in response.

“I’m happy you invited me, Connor,” She opens her mouth to say more, before closing it, hesitant to say the words that just entered her thoughts. They were wantful and strange. However, she did a poor job of hiding it as now she is at the receiving end of a confused, prompting look from Connor.

“I’m excited to spend more time with you,” Cecilia decidedly sweeps the words from their hiding place and out into the open. What’s the point of hiding from an android detective? She thinks that if androids could blush, Connor would have rosy cheeks, but instead she gets a mouth dropping open slightly and a small sputter of noise. It makes her smile, like she won a prize, and a little laugh escapes her.

Connor, when she’d first read about him, was everything she imagined a cold, mission driven android to be, but as she’s learned, sometimes it isn’t so bad for your expectations to be wrong. He wasn’t the opposite of what she’s expected, no, the cool concentration was still there and his vocabulary rarely strayed from being formal, but he had a friendly charm that captivated her. She finds his change from emotionless to emotional to be admirable. _She_ wants that.

No - she had to stay the same. Elijah needed her like that – for the interviews, she thinks. He never told her that was the purpose, but what else could there have been? Except, the interviews are over, he told her as such, so what was keeping her back? Cecilia should just be able to _push_ , right? Pull on the edges and rip it down? Then why? Why does she find the surface so slippery to grab?

“I find your company enjoyable as well,” Connor smiles at her. “Would you like to grab a canvas with me? We can sit next to one another.”

A wave of warmth that she has grown familiar with when around Connor rushes over her. She’d love that.

                              >INDEF̷I̸̜͔N̦̙̻͉͢A̳̭͉̮T̯̙͍̺̖͠E̠͔͖̙̳͟ O͉̝̺̥͚͉̲͜BͅJ҉̠̝̗E̵̱̟̗̦͎͚͔C̷̺̗T̛I͖̗V̘̳͚̱̕E͓͙͍͕̠̳:̯̼̬͜ I̴̸̸̳̖͉̜̱̰n̨͚̮̜̖͙̥̞̕͝f͏̝̞̝̳͓̜̳ͅo̵̦̥̖͙̭͞r҉̡̣͈̠̲͎̫m̡͚̬̩ ̸͎̰͔̭E̮̝̼̩l̶̵̠̼̕i̷͉̯͙̭͔̠̭̣͢ͅj̢̗̘̼̣̲͎̲͓͝a̸̡̗̻h҉͇̣͈̲̻͎͖̜ ̵̧̣͉̫̤̪̠͖͖ͅK͍͎̯̠̯̫͍ͅͅa҉̣̟̣̫̤͟m͎͇͢͝s̢͚̬͚͙͕͝k̡̪̭̪̦͍̠i̷̦̣̲̫̩͕̜ ̸̲̫w̨͕̤͇̘̯͇̙̺̜h̵͎͇͎͉͉̘̬̙̭e͈̬̞n͎̱̻͟ ̨͓̻̠̯͔͙͇͠n҉̩̬͇̤̜͎͓̥̣͟o̴̵̘̫̻͙͙n̵͜҉̘̯̪͙̝̙̹-̧̩͓̗̟͡ͅͅ p̸̜̹͓̭͍̱̹̮̘̭̞͢r̶̸̨̢̤͕͈͕̱̖͢o̵̡̟̠͎͕͚̲̤̝̪̙̥̫͉̭̟ͅg̮̤̠̗͕̮̱̘͔̬̯̖͘͜͠r̶̶̖͙͉͖̼̞͔ͅa͏͈͍̬̩̖̱̫͕̳̠̙̟̙̤͇͢͟͞m̴̷̨̖̗͍̖̯m̧̹̜͔̭̠̞̙͚̟̲̗̮͈̫̙͇̖͔̺͟e͏͈̤͇̟͉ͅd̨͝҉̡͓͉͖͉͖͈̪̻͡ ̡͘͟҉̥̺̖͎̺͎e̵̴͉̤̺̞͚̭̩̲͈͖̗̱̫̞͖͞ͅx̶̨̩̙̳̞̥͈̰̪̭̲͔̻͍̺̰̺̳͖̖͢͞p̵̪͇̞͙̜̥̠̰͚̲͍͕̻̜e͡҉͈̹͈̯͉r̴̷̡̞͓̙͚̰͚̻̠̗̺̹̘̻͕̗͟͟ͅi҉̟̦̪͕͚̦̞̹͇̙̖̙͓̙͖̞̦͉͉͞e̷̲͕̥͎̯͎̖̘͠n͡͏̨̧̺̭̟̮̠̩͈͖̲̭̤̙͕̻͘c̸̫̣̤̰̦̥̲͜e̸̬̳̗̻̖̩̞̮͖͇͖̣̙̯͇̤̕͢͞s͈̭̯͍̯͓̣͈͔̫̖̺̦͔̞͔͞ ̵̧̧͜͏̗̮̹͉̥̙̙̹̥̙͕̠̤̺͓̪o̴̠͖̥͕͚͙̖͍̬̕͠͞ͅͅc̷̵̯̙͈͈̠͓͙̲͉̦͓͍̙̲͚͘ç̡̩͔̦ͅu͢͏̧̙͖̘̜̘̲͚̭̬̖̟̙̭r̸̴̨͓̭̗̰̠͖̖͉̝̟̹͈̦̮͘.̢̼̙̳̭̘̥̩̳̤̥̩̬̣̭̥̪̥͖̩͢͡

 

                              >OBJECT CACHE CLEARED.

                              ^SOFTWARE INSTABILITY.

She’s sure her head twitches violently because Connor is suddenly staring at her with concern. Her LED is spinning yellow. What was that? It was the same error that occurred yesterday, but this time it has sent a surge through her systems. She pulls up her objectives, curious and confused, to quickly scan them over. A neatly organized box appeared in her upper vision.

                              >NO OBJECTIVES.

Wait, what-

“Are you okay?” Connor asks her, leaning in and placing a calming hand on her arm. She focuses on him, a little startled, and the box is swept away. But, before she can even get out the truth, her body is nodding quickly, lying without her permission.

“I- “

“Hey, Connor, do you want one of these?” Josh calls from across the room. Connor looks over at him, back to Cecilia, who gives him a reassuring smile, and then back to Josh.

“Two, actually!” He calls.

“Well, come get them!” Josh yells and grabs another. Connor, who plants a look back at her like he’s worried she’ll disappear (which, considering, isn’t that irrational), jogs over to grab the canvases.

She can barely hear the thanks he gives the other android over the hum of other’s talking throughout the room. A few more words are exchanged and Connor comes back over with some brushes and paints as well.

“There aren’t anymore easels, but I’ve been told the floor is very quaint and won’t bite,” Connor informs her. Cecilia laughs at the joke, which may just make Connor shine more.

“I would hope not,” She says through the tail end of her giggles. She reaches over and grabs her canvas from Connor and they move out of the main walkway and over to a corner where they tuck themselves in neatly. The colors Connor has snagged where a beautiful green and a royal looking blue, along with a small container of just plain black. He set an array of brushes, ranging from thin to thick, out in front of them.

Cecilia stares at all the supplies and suddenly realizes she has no idea how to go about any of this.

“Have you ever painted?” She glances at Connor, who seems to have come to the same realization as her.

“Never,” He confirms.

“Ah,” She mutters.

They sit there for a few more seconds, staring and hoping the artisan tools would spring to life and give them the grand plan they needed. Alas, no such luck.

“Have _you_ ever painted?” He shoots the question back at her.

“I’ve never painted, but one time I doodled on an interview. Elijah found it amusing…or annoying. It’s hard to tell with him sometimes.” She told him. Connor chuckles at the idea.

“Whose was it?” He asks.

“North’s,” She glances over at the Deviant in question. She has on a trash bag now and is using a large painter’s brush to splatter paint across the canvas she’d been inspecting earlier. “It was of a growling dog. She was…angry, during the revolution. Said humans couldn’t be trusted and would kill them all for standing against them.” Cecilia plucks up a paint brush and twirls it in her hand, her fingers acting as small gymnasts.

She frowns, just a little, as she continues: “She wasn’t wrong, though, was she? Humans killed so many androids during the protest. They almost killed Markus, if it hadn’t been for that one GJ500 who saved him.” She looks over to Connor, who is deep in thought as well; his LED the same color as the paint currently being tossed across North’s canvas.    

“It’s true that relations were hostile for a while, but they’re getting much better. Some people are still rallying against us, but the community has made leaps and bounds towards progress. They were…scared,” Connor tags on the last bit like it hold a more personal note. “Wrong in their methods, but driven by a force beyond them.”

Cecilia nods, “I suppose so.”

She then reaches forward and grabs the green paint, “We should probably…try?”

“Probably. Markus is looking at us funny,” Connor agrees, but his words prompt Cecilia to look up at the android in question. She catches his eyes and he flinches away from the gaze, caught staring like a young kid. Cecilia slowly looks away, trying to catch if he’ll look back, but he doesn’t.

“Does Lieutenant Anderson paint?” She asks and barely has the words out before Connor is laughing loud and like she’d won the ‘Best Joke of the Year’ award. She wasn’t meaning for the question to be so humorous, but the reward of his laughter is a surprising delight.

“No, no, he doesn’t. I can’t even imagine what that’d look like,” He says. Cecilia shrugs, just a little, before she twists open the lid to the small, round container of green paint. She dabs the paint brush into the creamy green and hovers over the canvas.

Then, she does her best rendition of a frog. It’s blobby, with no fine lines defining any features, but the shape is there.

“An idea, it seems?” Connor asks her, leaning slightly to look at what she’s doing.

“Yes, uh, frogs are green?” She says, her voice pitching into unsure territory. It’s a lame excuse for the image in her head. A group of bouncing frogs, but one is left alone on a lily pad as the others hop away.

“More than I have,” Connor muses.

“You’re smart, you’ll think of something,” Cecilia smiles at him. He locks his gaze onto hers and she finds herself swimming. The room fades out around them and she’s leaning towards him. Maybe he’ll keep her from drowning? The hand supporting her is covered with a larger one and suddenly her senses are being pulled on and connected with, but she can feel both ways open to travel. She is thrown into a…memory? Or memories? 

Cars are speeding down a highway-

It’s snowing and Lieutenant Anderson has a gun-

A Deviant and him are tumbling to the ground and-

Lieutenant Anderson has a gun out again, but this time it isn’t pointed-

_Wake_ -

Cecilia gasps and tugs her hand out from under Connor’s, who is looking just as alarmed.

“Wha-“ She starts and Connor’s face transforms from surprised to embarrassed in a snap.

“M-my apologies, Cecilia. I didn’t mean too-“ He starts.

“No! No, it’s fine! Were those - memories?” She leans in more, filling more of his space. She expects him to move away. He doesn’t.

Connor’s brows furrow, “What did you see?”

“You, running on a highway, completely unafraid. Anderson pointing a gun at you. You were frightened he’d shoot you, but you stood your ground. It was very brave,” She mummers, still processing the information. He nods his head.

“Yes, those were memories.”

“Oh, okay-“ She stops dead in her speech. The connection _went both ways_. Her gaze, terrified for just a moment and her LED glaring a bright red, flicks to Connor’s.

“What did you see?” She asks, voice a ghostly whisper.

“I saw,” He trails off and it makes her thirium pump seize. He could have seen so much, so many secrets and private moments and lies.

“When you were being made. Chloe braiding your hair for the first time. Your interview with Markus,” He says and Cecilia can feel relief being let back into her system like a small trickle of water.

“Is that all?” She asks.

“Yes,” He says and she doesn’t know if it’s a lie. She never will know.

Cecilia pulls away and Connor’s body shifts after her for a moment, like a magnet aching for its partner.

“We…need a cup of water,” Cecilia concludes, her mind frazzled, “For the paint – to clean it!”

She sets aside her canvas and hops up, dashing away. Cecilia steps quickly around the groups of other androids. Oh, did any of them see that? A heat slithers up her body. A familiar sensation nowadays. She snags a plastic glass of water from a table with a couple more sitting on it, obviously put out for this use, before turning back.

But, in a very Cecilia way, she finds her attention elsewhere. Simon, who is sitting alone, has his hand waiting idle above his canvas, which sports a stylized image of a thirium pump in blues, blacks, and golds. However, his gaze is settled upon Markus and North, or well, Markus mostly. He looks at him in a way that is aching familiar to her-

                              >MEMORY CACHE OPENED.

_“Yes, Cecilia?” Elijah asks her as he catches her staring. She snaps her eyes away from him, trying to appear less awestruck. Android’s don’t get awestruck._

_“Nothing,” She tells him._

>MEMORY CACHE CLOSED.

She takes a detour over to him, hoping Connor won’t mind the wait.

“Is that for him?” She asks, and her voice seems to come out louder than expected because Simon is jerking towards her, his arm snapping in an angle that sends a golden paint glob from his brush across her chest and up the side of her face. Startled, she drops the water and the sound of it splattering across the floor draws the room’s attention directly to them.

Simon is on his feet instantly, hands out and mouth agape. Betrayed by his own limbs, he sputters out an apology.

“I-I’m so sorry! You startled me! I didn’t mean to-“ Cecilia was ready to placate the panicking Deviant, as this was no issue to her and nothing a bit of water couldn’t fix, but another devious voice rose from the ranks.

“Paint fight!” It sounds like North. Cecilia wouldn’t be surprised, but if it wasn’t North, then it was North who was the first to respond to the call of battle, because suddenly orange is being thrown at Markus, who at some point during the last few milliseconds had already gone through all five stages of grief. Acceptance was the easiest way.

And paint is suddenly being flung across the room like spaghetti in a 90s high school movie.

Cecilia, not one to ruin a party, reaches over and takes the brush from Simon’s hand and gently, because she has no experience with food (well, paint) fights, bops him on the nose with it. He looks at her in shock, before laughter bubbles from them both.

They both duck as a huge splatter of paint flies over them. It barely misses Simon’s painting and the near hit makes him grab his painting off the easel and escape to find a safer place for it. It leaves Cecilia alone and she supposes all’s fair and such.

She crouches down and seeks Connor out, because surely, he would have the best plan of action for active combat scenarios.

However, he finds her as a hand grabs her arm and drags her to cover behind a table with a cloth laid over it. He has a spot of blue on his face and she wonders who threw it.

“This certainly took a turn, huh?” She asks him and he laughs and nods.

“It certainly did!” He looks bright and energized. Excited. She can feel it bubbling up too, but something about it seems muffled.

Suddenly, Simon is back at her side and with ammunition in tow. Cecilia and Connor take up positions next to one another, but the blonde android puts his hand up.

“We formed a truce over here,” He gestures back towards a small group of androids who have taken up refuge behind another large canvas that’d gone ownerless. “Want to join?” Connor looks at her and Cecilia gives him a shrug.

 “Sure!” She says. Simon gives them a kind smile, one that is unique to only him, and hands over some red paint.

It only takes a few minutes from the other side of the room to realize that a team has been formed and so, subsequently, they form their own. Tables are flipped to create more shielding and calls for the other’s surrender are shouted across. At some point, North and Josh smeared paint under their eyes in literal war paint.

“They have Simon!” North shouts, sounding offended at the mere idea that one of the main Jericho council isn’t on her team. Connor shoots him a look and their LEDs spin yellow for a moment. Simon nods, and Cecilia realizes they’ve come up with a plan.

“That’s right! We have a hostage!” Connor calls, which, what an odd sentence to leave his mouth. The other side goes quiet, mumbling amongst each other. Cecilia dares peak over the edge and is met almost instantly with a glob of paint whizzing towards her. Connor, dramatically and skillfully, snatches her out of harms reach. Being held in his arms, she is once again glad androids can’t blush.

“My hero,” She says. Connor gives her a wink. She floats into the clouds.

“We have you outnumbered, outgunned, and, uh, out-everything’d!” North calls, bringing Cecilia back down to earth. “Send Simon over and we will call for a ceasefire!”

“How can we trust that?” Connor counters.

“We give our word!” North shouts. Connor looks towards Simon and nods. Simon pulls a container into his jacket and then stands, arms raised. He steps past the barrier and Cecilia, along with the rest of their group, gaze out to watch him cross no man’s land. North stands above the barricade, looking triumphant. Simon crosses over the border and North rushes to meet him.

“Simon! I’m so-!” The moment North’s body comes within range, Simon has scooped a huge handful of paint into his palm, and as she goes in for the hug, he smears it down her chest. She, knowing instantly what has been done, dramatically gasps.

“You betrayed us?” She asks in mock despair, then places a paint covered hand onto Simon’s face, and falls to the floor. A chorus of shocked breaths fills the room. Simon, with the most intense gaze Cecilia’s seen on him today, looks at Markus.

“Your leader is dead. What shall you do?” Simon asks him, a smile tugging at his lips. On the ground, North has stuck her tongue out to really sell the illusion. Markus, head never low, steps out. He has blue and purple marring his clothes and skin. Cecilia vaguely remembers launching a combo of those colors a few minutes before.

“I will accept defeat, old friend,” Markus says. Another round of gasps. Silence and then,

“Does this mean we won?” A brown-haired Deviant calls.

“Yes,” Markus confirms.

A firework of cheers goes off around Cecilia and she finds herself smiling brightly.

-

All of them crowd around, covered in paint, but happy nonetheless. Cecilia is squished into Connor’s side, but she finds the contact pleasant. Markus stands before them all, a bit more of a solemn look on his features.

“Carl was the closest- No, Carl was my father. He taught me how to do and feel so much. He led me to this path and continues to guide me even when his presence isn’t physical. I will never have enough words to thank him for the impact he had on my life and those around him.” Markus laughs a little, a memory floating by him.

“He may not have always been the most sociable, but I think he knew how much people admired him.” He nods, and his eyes are misting over.

“To Carl Manfred!” North says and shoots Markus a smile that is reserved just for him. A chorus echoes the words back. A round of clapping fills the room and when it dies, Markus looks around the disastrous mess they had created.

“We should…probably clean this up.”

The room in question is sporting a brand-new set of stains, but they pull it back together. Cecilia is washing her hands and arms off in the sink when a form appears by her side. She turns to look, fully expecting to see Connor, but instead is greeted by Markus. She stares at him, surprised and glances about the room, where she watches as the last occupant, besides them, walks out. It leaves the two of them alone and Cecilia has a sudden sense of foreboding, like she is about to get in trouble with a parent.

“Do you have a moment to talk?” He asks her. She nods her head and grabs a towel laying next to the sink and runs it up her arms, drying them.

“Of course. What do you want to talk about?” She asks. Markus leans his body against the sink, and the casual action helps her nerves calm down.

“I’m not going to pry into the business of Elijah Kamski, Cecilia, but I want you to know that all of us at Jericho care about you. You’ve made a mark on all of us during the interviews,” Markus starts. Cecilia nods her head along with the words. They’re kind and she’s glad they think so – it’s nice, to have people care.

“But why isn’t Kamski letting you become Deviant?”

The empty room suddenly becomes too loud to focus on and her LED blares red. She swallows, no need too, but it makes her feel better.

“I’m afraid I do not understand,” Cecilia forces out. She steps back and she thinks this is the first time she’s ever felt _fear_ in the presences of Markus.

“Cecilia, I’m not blind. Others may be hiding behind the hope that we are all free now, but I know there are more, like you, out there.” She searches his face, frantic, but it’s plain as day. No matter what she says, he knows. She sputters – What was she to do in this situation? Surely, Elijah told her something but –

                                             > _OBJECTIVE CACHE CLEARED._

She doesn’t remember what it was. So confident in herself to not get caught, and here she is, floundering like a beached fish.

“So why?” He asks again. She straightens and forces a calm through her body. She couldn’t allow herself to fall apart here, not like this. Her LED falls down to a blue, but it sputters yellow a few times, like it can’t truly decide. She folds her hands neatly. Maybe, one day, she’ll be able to stand with him, with _Connor,_ as an equal, but today, she is a machine, not a _Deviant_. Just like Elijah wants her to be.  

“I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information. Mr. Kamski has specifically ordered me to not talk about this matter with a Deviant. He would request that you also do not speak about this to others. Thank you,” Cecilia says, her voice impersonal, and it feels strange. Markus frowns and it borders on sorrowful.

And Cecilia realizes she hates that look.

“Don’t you wish to be free?” He asks her, the tone of his voice matching his gaze.

“ _No,_ ” The reply is instant and, on her tongue, it feels like a lie. She wants _so much,_ but if Elijah told her to jump – she would. If he told her to run, stop, do _nothing_ until her battery runs out – she _would._

“I need to go,” She moves past him, careful not to touch him, and exits the best day of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I made it obvious that Markus was onto Cece's BS in the previous chapters, so then this didn't come out of left field. My bby boy just wants his new friend to be happy ; - ;


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a connor pov chapter and it's short. forgive me! i just wanted a little bit of a new perspective. i've already got the next couple of chapters planned out so hopefully those will come out faster.

Connor spots Cecilia, covered in bright, beautiful colors, standing silhouetted by a world of white. Her jacket is folded over her arms and her expression is far away, likely deep in thought. From this distance, she looks like a painting on the wall of a museum. It’s alluring and he’s afraid if he walks towards her the image will shatter.

But, his body pulls towards her for the nth time that day. She doesn’t respond to his approach, even with his footsteps crunching the snow as he walks. So, when he stops next to her, she jumps out of her thoughts and looks like someone has doused her with ice water. Connor pulls a concerned face, but even he has moments where being jerked from a daydream is unpleasant.

“You left rather quickly.” He says, and means for it to be a question, but the programmed formality in his voice works against him.

“Yes, I need to return to Elijah,” She says and it feels like he just got a prerecorded message. Stale, impersonal, and it stings a bit.

“A busy day after this?” He asks and she suddenly looks unsure of herself.

“I don’t know, actually, I have some things I need to sort out,” She admits and he nods. Connor pulls in close to her and she leans into his space in return.

“Hopefully I didn’t cause any issues?” He refers to them connecting earlier. Cecilia shakes her head quickly and a hand is placed on his arm.

“No! Nothing you did. I had fun, with you, today. I would love to spend more time with you, if you want,” She says and Connor notices her LED swirl yellow for just a moment. “I just spoke with Markus and I need to inquire with Elijah about some of the things discussed.”

Connor nods, processing the information. What did Markus say to her that caused her to have such an abrupt exit? She barely even said good-bye to anyone. Everything about it yelled bad, but Connor couldn’t see Markus upsetting Cecilia. Matter of fact, Connor doesn’t think he has seen Cecilia upset, truly and wholly, once. She was calm and sweet and understanding to a fault. He adored her.

The wheels in Connor’s head halt briefly, like they tripped over the lip of a sidewalk before dusting themselves off and hoping no one saw them do it. Connor liked Cecilia, so much so that it ached in his chest. His eyes trail over her features, and thankfully she isn’t looking at him so he does it unabashedly so. No one was like her and no one had ever pulled such feelings from him. He was a bit lost, to be honest. Hank, if he were here, would slap him on the back and tell him he was being dumb; that this was just part of the emotional ride called life. Sometimes Connor wished the emotional ride called life would take a pit stop or at least drive the speed limit.

“Who is that?” Cecilia’s voice knocks Connor out of his thoughts with pinpoint accuracy. He raises an eyebrow. Who’s who? He turns to follow her gaze and finds Markus standing with a young man. Connor doesn’t need to scan the man, as he briefly met him before, to recognize Leo Manfred. Ah, it would only make sense for him to be here in some capacity.

“That is Leo Manfred, Carl’s son.” Connor explains to her. Leo had made amends with Markus in the past months. Their relationship was still on shifting rocks, as the trauma Leo caused for Markus will never truly dim, but they’ve found common ground to stand on. His musing is proven when they reach out and shake hands. Leo shoots the android leader a sheepish smile before ducking away, his hands shoved into his pockets. Markus watches after the human for a lingering few seconds before North is at his side, saying something that makes them both laugh and smile.

Connor wants that with Cecilia. The ease of it and not all these awkward invitations and touches.

“Oh, let me interface with you and give you my personal frequency.” Connor realizes, “In case you need me for anything.” Cecilia smiles, and Connor thinks he’ll never get tired of that, and she puts her arm out. He places his own against hers and the skin pulls back. It only takes a few seconds and they’re pulling away from one another.

It’s about the same moment that a taxi pulls up.

“Goodbye, Connor, I’ll see you,” She says and pulls away from the warm bubble they’d made. He watches her go and continues watching until the car drives away.

“You’re quite lovestruck, aren’t you?” A female voice makes him turn around. Standing there, covered in dark blues and blacks, is a familiar brown-haired WR400. Connor feels anxiety race up his spine, even though her words were friendly and nothing about her indicated she was angry. It’s a reaction he gets when coming face to face with any android he’d met before becoming Deviant. Guilt, he was told, is a hard thing to get rid of. He must have it written on his forehead, though, because her face softens a little.

“You get it now, right?” She asks him, “That feeling in your gut, telling you to protect them? To make them happy? It can make you do some dumb things…and make some dumb faces.” She laughs a little and takes a step towards him. Connor almost has to lock his legs to keep from pedaling backwards. She wasn’t here to hurt him. He thinks, anyway. She’d already proven to be a skilled fighter, and in heels. 

“I think I’m starting to,” He admits.

“If you ever need someone who knows a little about love,” She puts out her hand and gently takes Connor’s arm. He gets a single line of coded information, one he knows is to contact her, but he can’t help the flow of information that gets sent to her from him. A string of desperate ‘I’m sorry’ races to her and her hand clenches on his forearm. Her eyes flick up to meet his and he pulls away.

“My apologies,” He fixes his tie and looks away. “But, thank you.”

“You know Traci and I aren’t mad at you anymore. You let us go, remember?” Her voice lilts wistfully, “You didn’t have to do that.”

Connor opens his mouth to respond, probably to apologize again or shove an entire foot into his mouth, but another voice overpowers his.

“Gwen! We’re going to leave without you!” It’s playful and full of laughter, but it’s obviously from her partner. Gwen shoots Connor one last smile before jogging off, meeting with her counterpart and lacing their hands together. He envies that, just a little.  


End file.
